WJPA Sports

Andrew Sharp ran for 132 yards and four first-half touchdowns, powering a Washington & Jefferson College 65-7 rout at Thiel Saturday afternoon. Robert Doyle returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for the hosts before the Presidents scored touchdowns on eight straight possessions. Quarterback Braylon Wagner was a perfect 12-for-12 for 178 yards and two touchdowns, all before halftime, and the freshman ran for a touchdown. The W&J defense registered six takeaways, including a pair of interceptions by Sam Coleman. Caden Vogel added an interception for the Presidents. W&J is not 6-1 overall, 5-0 in conference play. The Presidents will host Grove City (5-2, 4-0) next Saturday night, likely with the winner taking the Presidents Athletic Conference championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Malachi Toney had a big game, again. Darian Mensah had a big game, again.  And No. 1 Miami got a big win, again.  Toney had a school-record 16 catches, Mensah threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns, and Miami rolled past Pitt 52-23 on Saturday in the Hurricanes’ first game as the nation’s top-ranked team in nearly 24 years.  “We ran into a buzz saw,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “That’s a good football team. They’re the No. 1 team in the country and it’s no joke. They’re averaging 45 points a game. They’re No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 in just about every darn category. I don’t know if I’ve faced a team that is No. 1 in just about every category besides being No. 1 in the country.”

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Mike Hawkins Jr. ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score, and West Virginia’s defense forced a turnover in its red zone in the final minute to beat TCU 24-20 on Saturday.  The Mountaineers (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) have surpassed their win total for all of last season.  “Any win’s a big win, and a win on the road is especially big,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said.  TCU (3-4, 1-3) drove the length of the field for the potential go-ahead score against the nation’s second-worst defense, but quarterback Jaden Craig was hit by David Afogho as he went back to pass and fumbled at the West Virginia 14. The Mountaineers’ Ben Cutter recovered with 34 seconds left.  Craig said he held onto the ball too long on that pivotal play.  “Got to get rid of it,” he said. “Can’t take a sack in a two-minute situation.”  Hawkins said seeing his own defense come up big after a season full of disappointment “just brought joy to our whole team. It was just a great feeling overall.”  West Virginia is idle next Saturday and will face three ranked opponents over their final four games starting at No. 8 Texas Tech on Nov. 7.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ville Koivunen scored at 3:44 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2. Rickard Rakell scored the tying goal for Pittsburgh with 1:06 to play in regulation on a cross-ice pass from Sidney Crosby. It was Crosby’s 1,111th career assist, tying Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for the most with one franchise. Connor Dewar also scored for the Penguins, and Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots. Steven Stamkos and Jayden Struble scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros made 34 saves.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sal Frelick tied the score with his first home run in three months, Cooper Pratt hit a go-ahead single in the seventh inning and the Milwaukee Brewers stunned the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 for a 2-0 World Series lead by overcoming a four-run deficit for the second time this postseason. Tampa Bay, which won the American League pennant in part by consistently forcing opponents into mistakes, committed one error, made two other misplays on defense and had a runner thrown out at the plate by Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio. Down 4-0 in the first inning, Milwaukee rallied for its seventh comeback win of this postseason.